One Insight and One Question (or More) to Reflect
I watched a clip featuring an upcoming promising Canadian politician responding to a heckler who interrupted his rally. Instead of demeaning or ignoring the individual, he addressed the crowd, saying, “I want this young man to understand that I hear his voice. I feel the pain that he has been suffering. He is a legitimate person and deserves the respect of our leaders.”
I hate to admit it, but I found myself in tears.
Over the past few years, I’ve engaged with others as a coach and facilitator, listening to people’s challenges, obstacles, hopes, and resilience. Through these experiences, I’ve realized something profound:
The deepest yearning of every human is to be seen and acknowledged.
We’ve all faced moments where our voices weren’t heard, where our struggles weren’t acknowledged—often, it’s ourselves that we neglect to acknowledge. In the past, I’ve grappled with this internal battle as well: self-criticism and the failure to recognize the part of me that needed encouragement and support. I’ve come to understand this wasn’t solely my struggle—it’s a shared human experience.
From this place of empathy, I feel the calling. It’s a recognition of the interconnectedness of our pain and the necessity for kindness toward ourselves. This is my driving force. It’s why I wrote “The Heart Space,” initiated the Deep Listening Circle, and co-founded the Women’s Career Mastery program.
What drives you? What brings tears and profound pain that isn’t just yours but shared by others?
Our greatest strengths, determination, and sense of purpose often originate from our willingness to confront our deepest pain.
What’s yours, and how can you bring light or be the solution to the pain that, for some reason, affects you more deeply than other experiences?
One Quote from My Book
Our journey to the heart is a continuous practice of expanding and deepening our understanding of our inner workings and what makes us free. It liberates us from fear, not by pushing it away, but by acknowledging and understanding our vulnerabilities. When we do this, we can give and experience greater compassion, love, and understanding, for we can only love when we’re free to be ourselves. Such knowledge cannot be attained by logical reasoning alone but only through the direct experience of becoming love itself.
Christine Samuel — “The Heart Space”, The Epilogue Section
If you haven’t, download a free chapter of The Heart Space: Living with Grace and Ease in an Era of Uncertainty.